The foreign minister has said retaining Hungary’s position as “China’s number one economic partner in central Europe” is a strategic interest.
Péter Szijjártó, minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, stressed the importance of building relations with China following talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in New York on Tuesday.
Held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session, the two politicians agreed on launching a direct flight between Budapest and Shanghai. The talks also touched on Hungary’s resumption of poultry exports to China, as well as China’s first international import expo, at which Hungary will be guest of honor.
Minister Szijjártó announced that next year’s international telecommunications world expo would again be hosted by Hungary. He added that Hungary continues to be the primary market for Chinese investments in central Europe.
The foreign minister noted the construction of the Hungarian section of the Budapest-Belgrade railway line, which is a major bilateral project. He added that there are two consortiums consisting of Hungarian and Chinese firms still in competition, and that talks with them on the project’s technical and financial details would be concluded in the first week of October.
The minister confirmed that a construction contract is set to be signed with the winning bidder before the end of this year to ensure that the project is completed by 2023.
Finally, Minister Szijjártó noted that Chinese businesses had so far invested more than 4 billion USD in Hungary. He said that representing highly advanced technologies these investments will greatly contribute to further boosting Hungary’s economic development.